US small satellite launch services company Virgin Orbit has signed an agreement with Republic of (South) Korea investment company J-Space. Under the agreement, the two companies will assess candidate sites for spaceports in the East Asian country. The aim is to be able to provide small satellite launch services, for South Korea’s rapidly growing small satellite and space sector, from within the country itself, using Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne system.

Virgin Orbit (not to be confused with sister, but separate, company Virgin Galactic) employs the ‘horizontal launch’ technique to place satellites in orbit. That is, the launch rocket (in this case, Virgin Orbit’s own in-house LauncherOne) is carried aloft on a ‘mothership’ aeroplane (in Virgin Orbit’s case, a modified Boeing 747-400 airliner, named ‘Cosmic Girl’) and, at altitude (about 12 000 m), is released. After the rocket has clearly and safely separated from its mothership, it ignites its engine and soars into space, there releasing its payload satellite or satellites (depending on their size).

Virgin Orbit started providing commercial launch services from the US last year, and has already successfully launched a number of satellites. The company is due to undertake the first ever space launch from the UK later this year, from the soon-to-be operational Spaceport Cornwall (at the already operating Cornwall Airport Newquay) in the far southwest of England.

“We are pleased to enter into this exclusive agreement with J-Space to provide launch operations and space services for the South Korean market,” said Virgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart. “The Korean space industry has made huge strides in the past few years both in the commercial and government sectors, with the South Korean government increasing its space budget by over 20% in the past year alone. We are excited by the growth and partnership opportunities in the region that could include industrial base participation in South Korea and look forward to working with the visionary team at J-Space to expedite a flexible launch solution from the Korean peninsula in the near future.”

“Our work with Virgin Orbit opens the potential for unparalleled access to space from South Korea, enabling many of the new space utilisation companies in Korea by providing affordable, flexible and rapid launch,” affirmed J-Space CEO Bongki Min. “We want to build upon and extend the current South Korean space infrastructure, helping further enhance our role as a global leader in space. Our relationship with Virgin Orbit provides a key catalyst for that growth.”   

The two companies seek to develop a roadmap, incorporating spaceport site selection, launch operations, investment and business aims, and key partner identification. This roadmap is intended to delineate what will need to be done to allow LauncherOne launches from South Korea. These could happen as soon as 12 months to 18 months from now.